System and method for the automatic selection of interfaces

ABSTRACT

The automatic selection of interfaces can result in the optimization of interaction between entities. Such selection of interfaces can be applied specifically in the context of interactive voice response systems, and can allow the interface presented to a caller to be optimized based on factors including the caller&#39;s usage of the system.

PRIORITY

This applications claims priority from the disclosure of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/908,310, having the sametitle, filed on Mar. 27, 2007, which is incorporated by referenceherein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of automatic real time optimization ofinteractions during communication with an automated system.

BACKGROUND

While it is well known that automation can help decrease labor costs,there are many barriers to the full adoption of automation which preventautomation technology from reaching its full potential. One such barrieris the potential difficulty presented by interacting with an automatedsystem. For example, even if an automated system has a well defined andknown interface, interaction with the system through that interfacemight be complicated by factors such as differences in the caller'sfamiliarity with the interface. In some cases, interaction with anautomated system would be facilitated through the use of an alternateinterface to accommodate more efficient information transfer than wouldbe possible with the current interface provided by the automated system.However, even when alternate interfaces are available, accessing thoseinterfaces might be inefficient or inconvenient. For example, the use ofa particular interface might be reliant on a user knowing that analternate interface exists, and/or on making an explicit request to usethat interface. The teachings of this application can be used toautomatically select interfaces, thereby facilitating interaction withautomated systems, and lowering the barriers to adoption and acceptanceof automated technology.

SUMMARY

The teachings of this application can be implemented in a variety ofsystems, methods, computer readable media, apparatuses and otherembodiments as might be appropriate for particular situations. As anexample, certain aspects of the teachings of this application could beimplemented in a computer readable medium having stored thereon computerexecutable instructions for selecting an interface presented to a callerduring an interaction between the caller and an interactive voiceresponse system, or other interface-based systems, such as a multimodalinterface system.

For the purpose of clarity, certain terms used in the description hereinshould be understood to have specific meanings in the technologicalcontext of this application. In that light, the term “computer readablemedium” should be understood to refer to any object, substance, orcombination of objects or substances, capable of storing data orinstructions in a form in which they can be retrieved and/or processedby a device. A computer readable medium should not be limited to anyparticular type or organization, and should be understood to includedistributed and decentralized systems however they are physically orlogically disposed, as well as storage objects of systems which arelocated in a defined and/or circumscribed physical and/or logical space.The term “computer executable instructions” should be understood torefer to data which can be used to specify physical or logicaloperations which can be performed by a computer. The term “computer”should be understood to refer to any device or group of devices which iscapable of performing one or more logical and/or physical operations ondata to produce a result. The term “data” should be understood to referto information which is represented in a form which is capable of beingprocessed, stored and/or transmitted. The term “interaction” should beunderstood to refer to the exchange of information between two or moreentities. The term “interface” should be understood to refer to a set ofcommands, formats, specifications and tools which are used by an entitypresenting the interface to send and receive information. The term“interactive voice response system” (abbreviated IVR) should be used torefer to a system which interacts with callers by providing prompts andaccepting input in the form of natural language responses and/ortouchtone keypad selections. The term “multimodal interface system”should be used to refer to a system which is capable of interactionusing visual, touch, and/or voice interfaces. The term “visualinterface” should be used to refer to any interface presentinginformation to a receiving entity in a visual form. By way of exampleonly, and not limitation, a visual interface may present information byusing a display, such as the display on a mobile phone device. The term“touch interface” should be used to refer to any interface presentinginformation to a receiving entity in a tactile form. By way of exampleonly, and not limitation, a touch interface may present informationusing a touch-screen capable of receiving multi-touch responses. Theterm “voice interface” should be used to refer to any interfacepresenting information to a receiving entity in an audible form. By wayof example only, and not limitation, a computerized voice interfacewould be one example of a voice interface.

In an implementation in which a computer readable medium stores computerexecutable instructions for selecting an interface presented to a callerduring an interaction between the caller and an interactive voiceresponse system, the computer executable instructions might comprise: ausage detection module, which determines a user level for the caller bycomparing the interaction with one or more previous interactions, and aninterface selection engine, operable during the interaction toautomatically switch the interface presented to the caller to one of aplurality of available interfaces based on the current user level.

For the purpose of clarity, certain terms used herein should beunderstood as having a particular meaning in the technical context ofthis application. In that vein, the verb “determine” (and various formsthereof) should be understood to refer to the act of generating,selecting or otherwise specifying something. For example, to obtain anoutput as the result of analysis would be an example of “determining”that output. As a second example, to choose a response from a list ofpossible responses would be a method of “determining” a response. Also,the term “previous interaction,” when used in the context of comparingan interaction between a caller and an IVR with a “previous interaction”should be understood to refer to an interaction which took place at atime preceding the interaction to which it is being compared. Further,it should be understood that the “previous interaction” might be aninteraction between the IVR and the same caller as is engaging in theinteraction to which the “previous interaction” is being compared, or itmight be an interaction between the IVR and some different caller.Additionally, the term “module” should be understood to refer to a setof one or more instructions which, when executed by a computer, resultin that computer performing a specified task. The term “set” should beunderstood to refer to a number, group, or combination of one or morethings of similar nature, design, or function. The phrase “during theinteraction” should be understood as being used as a modifier indicatinga time in which an interaction is ongoing. For example, if aninteraction starts with a person saying “Hello”, and ends with thatperson saying “Goodbye”, anything which takes place between andincluding the words “Hello” and “Goodbye” could be said to have takenplace “during the interaction.” The modifier “automatically” should beunderstood to be used to indicate that the act which takes place“automatically” occurs as the result of the operation of a device (e.g.,a computer). For example, an act (such as an interface switch), whichtakes place as a result of a computer's analysis of data gathered duringan interaction could be said to have taken place “automatically.”

In some implementations in which a usage detection module determines auser level for a caller by comparing an interaction with one or moreprevious interactions, that comparison might be made in terms of: totaltime taken to reach a specified dialog during the interaction; timespent on one or more individual dialogs within a call script; and, totalnumber of failures, wherein a failure comprises an act taken from thelist consisting of the caller not providing input to an interactivevoice response system, and the caller providing an incorrect input to aninteractive voice response system.

For the purpose of clarity, certain terms used herein should beunderstood to have specific meanings in the technical context of thisapplication. Thus, the “total time taken to reach a specified dialog”should be understood to refer to the time elapsed during an interactionbefore the prompt of the specified dialog is presented to the caller.The phrase “providing an incorrect input to the interactive voiceresponse system” should be understood to refer to providing an inputwhich is not expected and/or recognized by the interactive voiceresponse system's interface. For example, if an interactive voiceresponse system provides the prompt “say 1 for weather or 2 for news”and expects a response of “1”, “2”, or “Operator”, and the callerresponds by stating “Woozle”, it could be said that the caller made an“incorrect response.”

As an additional example of how certain aspects of this applicationcould be implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art, in animplementation in which an interface selection engine is operable toswitch an interface to one of a plurality of available interfaces, theavailable interfaces might comprise: a standard interface, a specializedinterface, and a robust interface.

For the purpose of clarity, certain terms used herein should beunderstood to have specific meanings in the technical context of thisapplication. Thus, the term “standard interface” should be understood torefer to a default interface used for the system. By way of exampleonly, and not limitation, a standard interface may include a normalspeech interface used by an IVR system. The term “specialized interface”should be understood to refer to an interface having features suitablefor advanced users. By way of example only, and not limitation, aspecialized interface may include an advanced speech interface used byan IVR system, where the advanced speech interface contains lessexplanatory information than a normal speech interface. The term “robustinterface” should be understood to refer to an interface having lesspropensity for interpretive error in receiving responses. By way ofexample only, and not limitation, a robust interface may include atouchtone interface used by an IVR system. While the above examples haveinvolved speech interfaces for standard and specialized interfaces, anda touchtone interface for a robust interface, it should be appreciatedthat speech interfaces or touchtone interfaces may be adapted to fit thedefinitional parameters of a standard interface, a specializedinterface, or a robust interface. Thus, standard and specializedinterfaces should not be limited to speech interfaces, nor should robustinterfaces be limited to touchtone interfaces. Furthermore, in thecontext of multimodal interfaces, visual interfaces may also be designedas either standard, specialized, or robust interfaces.

Additionally, it should be understood that this application is notlimited to being implemented as described above. The inventorscontemplate that the teachings of this application could be implementedin a variety of methods, data structures, interfaces, computer readablemedia, and other forms which might be appropriate to a given situation.Additionally, the discussion above is not intended to be an exhaustiverecitation of all potential implementations of this application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawing is incorporated in and constitutes a part ofthis specification. Together with the detailed description given below,the drawing serves to explain how the teachings of this applicationcould be implemented. It should be understood that the teachings of thisapplication are not limited to being implemented in the precisearrangements shown. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 depicts a high level diagram of components which could be used todetermine and switch to an appropriate interface in an interaction withan automated system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The examples and explanations set forth herein are intended to enableone of ordinary skill in the art to implement the teachings of thisapplication without undue experimentation. It should be understood thatthe examples and terminology used in this application are intended to beillustrative only, and should not be interpreted as limiting on thescope of any claims which claim the benefit of this application, eitherthrough a priority claim or other means.

It should further be understood that while the examples and explanationsset forth herein focus on interactive voice response systems, theexamples and explanations herein are equally applicable to otherinterface-based systems used for interactions. By way of example only,and not limitation, such other systems may include multimodal interfacesystems.

EXAMPLE 1

As an illustration of how automated interface selection can facilitateinteraction with an automated system, consider the example of a callerinteracting with an interactive voice response system (IVR). For thepurpose of this example, assume that the caller calls the IVR and that,once a connection has been established, the ensuing communication iscomprised of a plurality of dialogs, which themselves consist of aprompt from the IVR (e.g., “Please state your name”) and a response fromthe caller (e.g., “John Doe”). In this example, the dialogs initiallytake place using a standard interface, comprising explanatory promptsprovided by the IVR, and speech recognition software for interpretingresponses provided by the caller. Also, for the purpose of this example,assume that the standard interface is inappropriate for interaction withthe caller. This inappropriateness could result from a plurality ofcauses.

Consider a caller who is familiar with the functions provided by theIVR, thereby rendering the explanatory prompts provided by the standardinterface unnecessary and/or inefficient. For such an individual,interaction with the IVR could be made more efficient by switching to aspecialized interface more appropriate to the caller's usage of the IVR.To make the determination of whether such a switch might be appropriate,the IVR could be equipped with a usage detection module.

This usage detection module might function in a variety of ways. Theusage detection module might make its determination by measuring thetotal time required by the caller to reach a given point, or marker, inthe interaction with the IVR (e.g., the total time required by thecaller to navigate an introductory menu and reach a dialog requestingthe caller to enter a personal identification number) and compare thattime with an average time taken by other callers to reach that point, ormarker, in similar interactions. Alternatively, the usage detectionmodule might monitor the number of caller input failures (e.g.,providing no inputs within a given time, or providing an input whichdoes not match the choices available as responses for a given dialog)and use a comparison of that number with the number of input failures ofother callers in similar interactions to determine the appropriatenessof switching the caller to a specialized interface. As yet anotheralternative, the usage detection module might measure the time thecaller spends at each individual dialog in the interaction (e.g., thetime spent by the caller in responding to a personal identificationnumber request in an interaction with a banking IVR) and compare thatmeasurement with the average time spent by other callers.

Still other alternatives for determining the appropriateness of aninterface switch in the context of the usage detection module mayinclude comparing a caller with preset benchmarks or thresholds, insteadof with data regarding interactions with other callers. By way ofexample only, and not limitation, one such benchmark or threshold mayinclude a caller providing hidden, unspecified commands or options tothe IVR system. For instance, a high usage level may be evidenced by acaller interrupting the IVR by speaking or entering an account numberbefore the IVR system has requested such information. Similarly, a highusage level may be evidenced by a caller interrupting the IVR byspeaking or entering a menu navigation option before it has beenpresented to the caller as an option. Also, by way of example only, andnot limitation, one such benchmark or threshold may include a callerusing terse responses within an IVR system when terse responses are notrequired. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art thatcallers familiar with an IVR often provide concise and accurate responseterms rather than providing a verbose response. For instance, a highusage level may be evidenced by a caller responding “transfer $400 fromsavings” to an IVR prompt inquiring, “What would you like to do?”

Regardless of the specific methods employed, once the usage detectionmodule determines that the switch is appropriate, the caller could beautomatically switched to a specialized interface (e.g., an advancedinterface which omits some of the explanatory material provided by theprompts of the standard interface) in real time during the interaction.

EXAMPLE 2

As a concrete example of how a switch to a specialized interface mighttake place, consider the following example of a series of dialogs whichmight take place with a banking IVR to transfer money from one accountto another. Using a standard interface, a communication comprising thefollowing prompts and responses might take place:

-   Prompt: “Welcome to XYZ national bank's telephonic banking system.    To access the system, please state your personal identification    number.”-   Response: “123-456-789”-   Prompt: “Please state the type of transaction you wish to perform.”-   Response: “I want to transfer money.”-   Prompt: “Please state the amount you wish to transfer”-   Response: “$500”-   Prompt: “Please state the account number of the account you wish to    transfer from.”-   Response: “0987”-   Prompt: “Please state the account number of the account you wish to    transfer to.”-   Response: “4321”-   Prompt: “Do you wish to transfer $500 from account 0987 to account    4321?”-   Response: “Yes”-   Prompt: “Your request is being processed. Your confirmation number    for this transaction is 6754.”-   Response: <Caller hangs up>.    However, if a usage detection module detects that the caller was    already familiar with the operation of the IVR (for example, because    the caller stated his PIN number as soon as a connection to the IVR    was established), the caller could be switched to a specialized    interface, which might result in the following series of prompts and    responses:-   Prompt: “Wel—”-   Response: <Caller interrupts midway through the word welcome>    “123-456-789”-   Prompt: “Please state your transaction.”-   Response: “Transfer $500 from 0987 to 4321.”-   Prompt: “Do you wish to transfer $500 from account 0987 to account    4321?”-   Response: “Yes”-   Prompt: “Your request is being processed. Your confirmation number    for this transaction is 6754.”-   Response: <Caller hangs up>.    Thus, by switching to an interface which includes less explanatory    material and instead relies on the caller's familiarity with the    system, a usage detection module allows for a more efficient    transaction to take place. Of course, this example is provided only    to illustrate one potential application for a usage detection    module, and is not intended to be limiting on either the analysis    performed by usage detections modules, or the types of specialized    interfaces they may employ.

It should be appreciated that the methods employed for detecting theappropriateness of an interface change, selecting an availableinterface, and switching to the selected interface may be used in avariety of ways. For example, the usage detection module may beconfigured to analyze specific dialogs or portions of dialogs to providean output for determining whether an interface change is appropriate.Alternatively, the detection module may be configured to analyze theinteraction in different increments, possibly based on multiple dialogs,time, or caller usage behavior patterns. Additionally, such a system maybe configured to allow for any number of interface changes during agiven interaction. While in some versions there may be only oneinterface switch, in other versions there may be numerous interfaceswitches. Similarly, among the available interfaces, the same interfacemay be used any number of times during a given interaction.

Also, the discussion of the usage detection module in the previousparagraphs should be understood as illustrative only of how automatedinterface selection could be used to facilitate interaction with anautomated system, and should not be interpreted as limiting on the scopeof the claims which claim the benefit of this application. For example,while the previous paragraphs described methods in which the usagedetection module could determine the appropriateness of an interfaceswitch as alternatives, those methods could be used in combination witheach other, or with other methods, or be replaced by other methodsentirely. Similarly, while the previous paragraphs described aninterface switch being made automatically as a result of thedetermination of the usage detection module, in some instance, theanalysis of the usage detection module might be used as an input toanother process which would make the determination of whether to performan interface switch. By way of example only, and not limitation, otherprocesses to which the usage detection module might be used as an inputmay include a process that segments callers into different usage levelsbased on transaction type or call circumstances. For instance, it may beimpractical to switch a caller from a speech interface to touchtoneinterface if the caller is driving and on a cellphone, or if the calleruses a smartphone device which may not have usual keypads. Similarly, itmay be impractical to switch a caller from a normal speech interface toan advanced speech interface, if the caller will be executing a new,unfamiliar transaction type compared to when the caller is executingfamiliar transaction types. Also, while the focus has includedautomatically switching interfaces, in some instances a switch could bemade at the request of a caller or a system administrator. These andother variations on the use of interface switching could be used tofacilitate interaction with automated systems by those of skill in theart without undue experimentation.

EXAMPLE 3

By way of additional illustration, FIG. 1 sets forth a high leveldiagram showing one manner in which a system for automatically switchingan interface, as described above in the context of an interaction withan IVR, could be implemented. In the system shown in FIG. 1, a usagedetection module [102] is communicatively coupled with an interfaceselection engine [103], which could be implemented as a software modulecapable of choosing among available interfaces [104] according toselection logic [105] to determine an appropriate interface [106] forinteraction with the IVR. As a simplified example of how the componentsdepicted in FIG. 1 might interact, consider the situation in which theusage detection module [102] has only one output, and in which thatoutput can take only one of three states. For the usage detection module[102], that output might be a usage level, which could have the statesof AVERAGE, BELOW AVERAGE and ADVANCED. Those outputs would be acceptedby the interface selection engine [103], which would use the selectionlogic [105], to determine which of the available interfaces [104] is theappropriate interface [106]. To continue the simplified example, theinterface selection engine [103] might use the following selection logic[105]:

-   I=R iff (U==1)-   I=S₁ iff (U==2)-   I=S₀ iff (U==0)    Where, in the expressions above, “I” represents the appropriate    interface [106], “R” represents a robust interface, “S₁” represents    a specialized interface, “S₀” represents a standard interface, “iff”    is a logical operator meaning if and only if, and U represents the    output and state of the usage detection module [102] (with 0 meaning    AVERAGE usage level, 1 meaning BELOW AVERAGE usage level, and 2    meaning ADVANCED usage level). When the appropriate interface [106]    had been determined, the interface selection engine [103] could    automatically implement the interface which is most appropriate for    interaction with the caller. The interface could thereby be    optimized without any specific request from the caller, and    potentially without the caller realizing that a switch has taken    place.

It should be understood that the simplified example discussed in thecontext of FIG. 1 is not intended to be limiting on the scope of claimswhich claim the benefit of this application. Indeed, the discussion ofthe components depicted in FIG. 1 was purposefully simplified to avoiddistracting from the interactions of those components. Accordingly,while the discussion of FIG. 1 included a usage detection module [102]having one output, and that output having only one potential value, morecomplicated, and larger numbers of outputs could also be used fordetermining the appropriateness of a particular interface for aninteraction. For example, instead of taking only three values, theoutputs of the usage detection module [102] might take the form of moreexpressive or structured data (e.g., floating point numbers, or markuplanguage files). Also, in some implementations, instead of using thethree expressions set forth above to determine which of three availableinterfaces [104] to use, the interface selection engine [103] might havelarger numbers of available interfaces [104] and use more complicated orsophisticated methods of deciding between them. For instance, theinterface selection engine [103] might incorporate machine learningalgorithms, such as neural network analysis, so that not only couldinterface selection be more sophisticated, it could also be modified tobecome more accurate over time. Similarly, machine learning techniquescould be incorporated into the processing performed by the usagedetection module [102] so that it too might adapt over time to providemore accurate inputs for the interface selection engine [103].

EXAMPLE 4

As an illustration of how an interface could be switched without thecaller being aware that the switch has taken place, consider thefollowing example. Using a standard interface, a banking IVR mightprovide the following prompt: “What would you like to do? You can sayrecent transactions, balance information or find a branch.” If thecaller responded with a terse response like “transfer $400 fromsavings,” the IVR might be configured to recognize such a terse responseas an indication of an advanced usage level and automatically switch toa specialized interface, such as an advanced speech interface with fewerprompts and/or less explanatory information. The next prompt in thestandard interface may have been: “Which account would you like totransfer from?” Whereas, the next prompt in the specialized interfacemay be: “You would like to transfer $400 from savings to checking.Please confirm.” Thus, by detecting an advanced usage level andswitching to a specialized interface, the interaction may proceed withfewer steps and more expeditiously. Such transparent selection ofappropriate interfaces could result in more effective communication withan automated system, thereby reducing the number of transfers to a livesystem.

EXAMPLE 5

In an example incorporating a multimodal interface system, theinteraction may begin with a caller phoning an automated bankingapplication. In this example, the automated banking application may bedesigned with an ATM locator utility that uses a multimodal interfacesystem having voice, touchtone, and visual interfaces. Furthermore, themultimodal interface system may be responsive to usage level inputs toimprove the interaction efficiency and experience for the caller.

Expanding on this example, an interaction in a multimodal system withoutan automatic interface switch based on user level may take the followingform:

-   Prompt: “What would you like to do? You may say recent transactions,    balance information, or find an ATM.”-   Response: “Find an ATM.”-   Prompt: “Please tell me the location where you want to find the    ATM.”-   Response: “I am at 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Va.”-   Prompt: “There is an ATM at 1000 Reston Parkway, Reston, Va. Would    you like directions from your current location?”-   Response: “Yes.”-   Prompt: “Would you like directions sent to your cellphone?”-   Response: “Yes.”-   Prompt: “Sending directions to your cellphone (703) 555-1212.”-   Response: <Caller hangs up>.    However, if a usage detection module detects that the caller was    already familiar with the operation of the banking ATM locator    utility (for example, because the caller stated his location as soon    as a connection to the system was established), the caller could be    switched to a multimodal interface system using a specialized speech    interface, which might result in the following series of prompts and    responses:-   Prompt: “What—”-   Response: <Caller interrupts midway through the word what> “11800    Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Va.”-   Prompt: “There is an ATM at 1000 Reston Parkway, Reston, Va. Would    you like directions from your current location sent to your    cellphone?”-   Response: “Yes.”-   Prompt: “Sending directions to your cellphone (703) 555-1212.”-   Response: <Caller hangs up>.    Thus, by switching to an interface which includes less explanatory    material and instead relies on the caller's familiarity with the    system, a usage detection module allows for a more efficient    transaction to take place. Of course, this example is provided only    to illustrate one potential application for a usage detection module    with a multimodal interface system, and is not intended to be    limiting on either the analysis performed by usage detections    modules, or the types of specialized interfaces they may employ.

While this application has focused on facilitating interaction with anIVR through the use of automated interface selection, such automatedinterface selection is not limited to the specific methods, systems,components and uses explicitly set forth in the description. Forexample, while FIG. 1 depicted available interfaces [104] and selectionlogic [105] as being distinct components, those components could becombined when implementing the teachings of this application (e.g., eachavailable interface might be associated with a particular expression fortriggering and/or a preference value for use in conflict resolution).Similarly, while FIG. 1 depicts the available interfaces [104] andselection logic [105] as separate from the interface selection engine[103], those components could be integrated into the interface selectionengine [103], for example, by having their contents coded directly intothe interface selection engine [103]. Further modifications mightinclude augmentation or replacement of the inputs provided by the usagedetection module [102] depicted in FIG. 1.

Similarly, modifications might augment or replace the usage detectionmodules with other components. For example, a security detection module(for determining whether an interface having increased security shouldbe employed), a latency detection module (for determining whether thedata transferred for a particular interface introduces greater delaysthan data which might be transferred using a different interface), acompatibility detection module (for determining whether an entitycommunicating with an automated system has capabilities which arecompatible with a particular interface), and a caller preferencedetection module (for determining whether a caller prefers a particularinterface for certain types of dialogs, e.g., a caller preferring to usea touchtone interface for secure dialog modules requesting personalnumeric or alphanumeric information) could be used to determine whethera particular interface is more appropriate for a particular interaction.

Also, while the above discussion has focused on interactions between acaller and an IVR, the technique of selecting an appropriate interfacefor an interaction (or multiple appropriate interfaces for aninteraction, in the circumstance where the determination of appropriateinterface might change) can be broadly applied in any situation in whichmultiple interfaces of potentially varying efficacy are available. Asdiscussed previously, and by way of example only and not limitation,other applicable situations may include multimodal interface systems.

The preceding paragraphs disclose certain features which might bepresent in some implementations of the techniques taught herein. Theabove disclosure is intended to be illustrative of certain features andcapabilities which might be present in some implementations of systemswhich are capable of automated interface selection, it should beunderstood that numerous modifications and improvements will beimmediately apparent to one of skill in the art. Therefore, the abovedisclosure should be taken as illustrative, and not limiting on thescope of any claims which claim the benefit of this application.

1. A computer readable medium comprising computer executableinstructions for selecting an interface presented to a caller during aninteraction between the caller and an interactive voice response system,wherein the computer executable instructions comprise: (a) one or moredetection modules operable to determine one or more outputs associatedwith the interaction, wherein at least one of the detection modulescomprises a usage detection module operable to determine a user levelfor the caller; (b) a selection logic operable to select one of aplurality of available interfaces; and (c) an interface selection enginein communication with the one or more detection modules and theselection logic, wherein the interface selection engine is operable toswitch the interface presented to the caller to the one of a pluralityof available interfaces based on the one or more outputs provided by thedetection modules and the selection logic.
 2. The computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the available interfaces include: (a) astandard interface; and (b) a specialized interface.
 3. The computerreadable medium of claim 2, wherein the standard interface is a standardspeech interface, and the specialized interface is an advanced speechinterface.
 4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the oneor more detection modules further comprise a security detection module.5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the interfaceselection engine communicates with the one or more detection modules andthe selection logic during the interaction and automatically switchesthe interface in real time to the one of a plurality of availableinterfaces.
 6. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the userlevel is determined by comparing the time to reach a specified markerduring the interaction, with the time to reach the specified markerduring one or more previous interactions.
 7. The computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the user level is determined by comparing thetime spent on one or more dialogs within a call script during theinteraction, with the time spent on one or more dialogs within the callscript during one or more previous interactions.
 8. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the user level is determined bycomparing the number of failures during the interaction, with the numberof failures during one or more previous interactions.
 9. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the user level is determined bycomparing the response of the caller to a benchmark.
 10. The computerreadable medium of claim 9, wherein the benchmark involves the callerproviding one or more unspecified commands.
 11. The computer readablemedium of claim 9, wherein the benchmark involves the caller providingone or more terse responses.
 12. The computer readable medium of claim1, wherein the user level is determined based on members selected fromthe group consisting of a time to reach a specified marker during theinteraction, a time spent on one or more dialogs within a call scriptduring the interaction, a number of failures during the interaction, oneor more unspecified commands provided by the caller, one or more terseresponses provided by the caller, and combinations thereof.
 13. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the interaction is betweena user and a multimodal interface system.
 14. A system for automaticallyswitching an interface associated with an interactive voice responsesystem comprising: (a) an interface selection engine; (b) a selectionlogic; and (c) a usage detection module, wherein the usage detectionmodule produces one or more outputs relating to a caller's usage thatare accepted by the interface selection engine; wherein the interfaceselection engine comprises a software module operable to select one of aplurality of available interfaces according to the one or more outputsand the selection logic, and wherein the interface selection engineautomatically switches the interface to the one of a plurality ofavailable interfaces selected.
 15. The system according to claim 14,wherein the user level is determined based on members selected from thegroup consisting of a time to reach a specified marker during theinteraction, a time spent on one or more dialogs within a call scriptduring the interaction, a number of failures during the interaction, oneor more unspecified commands provided by the caller, one or more terseresponses provided by the caller, and combinations thereof.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 14, wherein the usage detection modulecomprises a user level output having an average user level state, abelow average user level state, and an advanced user level state, andwherein the selection logic selects: (a) a robust interface when theusage detection module indicates the below average user level state; (b)a specialized interface when the usage detection module indicates theadvanced user level state; and (c) a standard interface when the usagedetection module indicates the average user level state.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 14 operable with a multimodal interface system.
 18. Amethod in a computer system for selecting an interface presented to acaller during an interaction between the caller and an interactive voiceresponse system, wherein the method comprises the steps of: (a)determining one or more outputs associated with the interaction, whereinthe one or more outputs include a usage level; (b) selecting one of aplurality of available interfaces according to the one or more outputsassociated with the interaction; and (c) switching the interfacepresented to the caller to the one of a plurality of availableinterfaces selected, wherein the switching occurs automatically duringthe interaction.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the availableinterfaces include: (a) a standard interface; and (b) a specializedinterface.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the available interfacesfurther include a robust interface.
 21. The method of claim 18, whereinthe user level is determined based on members selected from the groupconsisting of a time to reach a specified marker during the interaction,a time spent on one or more dialogs within a call script during theinteraction, a number of failures during the interaction, one or moreunspecified commands provided by the caller, one or more terse responsesprovided by the caller, and combinations thereof.
 22. The method ofclaim 18, wherein steps (a) through (c) are repeated during theinteraction.